


Straight Out of the Coffin

by Oddities1991



Category: NCIS
Genre: Alternate Universe, I miss the old team, McGee Centric, McGee-centric, OCs galore, Suspend Disbelief is a good policy to have here, Vampire Politics, Vampires, unbeta’ed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:28:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27059509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oddities1991/pseuds/Oddities1991
Summary: Vampires are ready to take co-existing with humans to a new level. McGee’s connection to the Royal Bloodline makes him the best option for a liaison between NCIS and Vampire Society. Vampire Politics are a bloody, dangerous thing and team Gibbs find themselves with a reliable, if overwhelmed guide in Timothy McGee.A rewrite of Season 8, goes AU from there.Expect updates Every other Friday until the story ends.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	Straight Out of the Coffin

**NOTE:** Writer is old and dusty and has no idea what she’s doing. As an avid reader of vampire lore you will find many inspirations in my interpretations of these beings. From Anne Rice to Richelle Mead to Charline Harris and yes, even Twilight, you’ll likely recognize a lot of my ideas since it’s really a merging of my favorite vampiric things. Really, I just wanted to explore my favorite part of Vampire Politics and give McGee a central role in my sandbox. Of course I own nothing. I am a poor cashier trying to find small joys in old hobbies. Please don’t sue. Feedback is welcome. If you are interested in editing my chapters, I am in search of a beta who can help me keep these characters familiar to their on screen-selves and keep me from delving too far into angst for angst sake because I tend to like the darker side of things.

The office was quiet. Too quiet. McGee frowned as he swept into headquarters of NCIS. He eyed the stillness of the place. There were were people here, but nobody was saying a word. An odd feeling of dread came over him. Something was wrong. He neared his desk and almost sighed with audible relief as he heard the familiar argumentative tones in his teammates.

“It’s can’t be real.” Tony gestured wildly at the television. “Can you believe this Tim?”

“It has to be a hoax.” It was rare for Ziva and Tony to agree on much of anything. So if she said it was hoax, it must be —-

“McGee.”

Tim turned around, about to stutter out a “Boss—“ and widened his eyes when he found the Director Himself. “Follow me.”

This couldn’t be good. Or maybe they needed his talents as a hacker. Or maybe or maybe — he couldn’t come up with any good alternatives. His mind was stuck. His ears were ringing. That bell again. Something is wrong. Something bad is about to happen. Duck and cover, Tim. Duck and cover.

He heard the distant, “ _what was that all about?_ ” From Tony and quietly wondered the same. They made their way to the conference room in silence. The door shut behind them. The recorder turned off. And on the giant screen was a large-boned man with pale features and green eyes. Familiar green eyes.

Tim sat down. Vaguely, he was aware of Gibbs sitting right beside him. His mind repeated the phrase. He glanced sideways at Gibbs.

“Boss.” He greeted. He very carefully did not look at the man on the screen.

“McGee.” Gibbs looked pointedly at the screen. “You know who this is? He says he knows you.”

“Yes boss.” Tim heard himself saying.

“I would appreciate it, gentleman, if you did not talk about me as if I weren’t here.”

Tim grimaced. Shrank into the chair.

Director Vance placed a hand on his shoulder. It was probably meant to be comforting. Tim only felt the heavy weight of the moment more keenly. He took a breath.

“Progenitor,” Tim greeted politely, old mask falling into place. The way his grandmother had taught him. _These beasts will destroy you in an instant, Timmothy, if you let them. Be polite. They appreciate that. They don’t kill the ones they appreciate._

“What may we do for you today?” He did not look at Gibbs anymore. He gave the man on the screen his sole attention. _They don’t like it when you ignore their questions._

The man smiled down at him. His lips red, his face pale. He had dark, black hair that fell past his shoulders when he let it. Tim noted that the man had tied it back, probably in an effort to look more modern than he was used to. Accommodation wasn’t always a good thing. Accommodation meant a longer stay. “Always polite, young Timothy. That is what we can count on from you and your family.”

Tim did not frown. No, the man was looking for a crack in the mask. A weakness. He could not afford to show weakness. He smoothed his features into a mirror of Gibbs. “Does the fact that you are calling me at work mean you’ve moved onto Phase Two?”

The smile stretched into a grin. And then the man laughed. It was an evil sound. At least, that was how their laughter sounded to Tim. It had a low pitch to it, more a hum than a lilt. It hurt his ears.

“Dimitri.” Tim pressed, ignoring the slight rise in panic. “Tell me what’s going on. Why are you calling Director Vance?”

“Ah yes... your Director. He was very kind to fetch you for us.” Dimitri grinned. “I do like it when you call me by name. Yes, Timothy, we have moved onto Phase Two. We are ready to intermingle with your human laws. Maximoff says it is time.”

“And you called for me because...?” Tim prompted.

“Because we have come into an agreement with your President. He is willing to give our offer of coexistence a try. Provided that we show we can .... re-merge into society. As it were.”

“And how does that involve NCIS?”

“We have explained how we’ve survived through these years.” Dimitri said. “How people like those in your family would house us willingly. How we protected those who serve us through generations.”

Tim tried to dissect that and crossed his arms when Dimitri stopped talking. “You didn’t answer the question.”

Dimitri smirked. “No,” he agreed, “I did not. It involves your organization, Timothy, because we are entering into a partnership of sorts. We are sending some of our best soldiers to your people. They are to work beside you. To learn your ways. To integrate into the human way of things.”

“Alright.” Tim said, and he sounded so very calm for being on the edge of making a run for it. Vampires. Here. He thought of Abby in the labs, thought of how intrigued she would be. Thought of how she would forget that these creatures are not people. They were very good at playing a person, but in the end they were ancients too far removed from humans for it to be a successful act. He thought of Ziva, who would have a better chance at fighting back if they lost control. How she would appreciate their strength, their worriers heart. How they would enjoy the fight because it was not very often a human would be able to take them. He thought of Tony, who would be endless with his questions and incessant just because he could. They would all be killed easily. Mercilessly. They wouldn’t serve willingly once they found out what kind of monsters these so-called ancients were.

Tim seemed to find himself again. He ignored Gibb’s questioning gaze. “Alright.” He said again. “I mean. I assume —“ he glanced at Director Vance. “You approved of this, right?”

Director Vance was tight lipped as he eyed the vampire on the screen. “Yes.” He said with a sigh. “Unfortunately, I didn’t have much of a choice.”

“We had hoped your Director would allow our soldiers to work with a familiar face. We hear a great many good things about your team and their competency. About their valiant leader.” Dimitri flashed Gibbs a smile. It was not returned. He frowned but schooled his features into something that mirrored Gibbs.

“Yes.” Director Vance agreed. “Would you excuse us, Dimitri. I would like a moment to discuss this with our agent.” Director Vance gave the signal and the screen went dark.

“He’s not going to like that.” Tim said faintly. He could imagine Dimitri roaring at the thing to turn back on and almost giggled. Aware he was on the verge of hysteria, he forced himself to straighten.

“I don’t care if he doesn’t like it, McGee.” Director Vance snapped. Tim could almost hear the disbelief at the situation and smiled despite himself. “What can you tell me about this ....” He waved a hand at the screen. “Progenitor?”

“It means that he created a generational line—” Tim said automatically and winced when Director Vance sighed at him.

“I know what the word means, McGee.” Director Vance said, with obvious lessening patience. “Why do you phrase it like it means something?”

“Because it does.” Tim said. It wasn’t much of an explanation but he’d always thought it was sort of self explanatory. “In their world, he’s Royalty. He’s a direct descendent of the original who also created his own line. If he tells them to die, they will die. If he tells them to go to war, they won’t ask with who.”

“Okay.” Director Vance finally took a seat at his other side and Tim stared at his lap, trying to grasp this merge of his two worlds.“So he’s a powerful son of a bitch. Why are we hearing about their existence just now?”

“Because before they had laws against that sort of thing. Their own laws. I’m not sure who authorized the take over. I’m just a human. There’s no reason to keep me in the loop. They were at war with each other for thousands of years. One of the originals must have died. I can’t tell you which one because I don’t know.”

“Alright.” Director Vance allowed. “Then what do you suggest we do?”

“Me?” It came out as a squeak and Tim swallowed, trying his best to ignore the panic that had crept out.

“You have experience with these... people. They obviously have a preference for you. How do you suggest we move forward.”

Tim closed his eyes. We don’t. We refuse and we die or we give in and we die. Unless Dimitri meant what he said. Unless they were actually trying Phase Two. He just hoped Phase Two was successful enough that it would delay Phase Three for — well, indefinitely.

“I’m honestly not sure, Director.” He said finally. “Phase Two has always been about coexistence. They want to experience the modern world. They have...difficulty fitting in without help. It may be more genuine than we think.”

“But?”

“But they’re ancient beings.” Tim continued. “They live by their own rules. They have their own government. I think while they may want to experience the modern world, their own laws are lethal and it would be a mistake to underestimate them. To assume that they would be content without power. On the other hand, they enjoy politics. They enjoy rising to power. They enjoy order and justice. It’s just .... on a different level than us. To refuse this offer would be an insult, which would ultimately be a mistake. But we have to watch our backs. They will kill any friend they find untrustworthy.”

“So you think we should move forward with this partnership.”

Tim nodded.

“Alright.” Director Vance said.

“That’s it?”

“You have more experience with this than than any of us, McGee. You’ve been a reliable Agent for years. I trust your judgement.”

Tim felt his cheeks pink. “Uh,” He stuttered.

Director Vance only smiled at him. “Say thank you, McGee, and call it good.”

“Thank you.” Tim said and watched as Director Vance motioned for the signal to return.


End file.
